"Halfway across the world from the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, several small, remote communities at the northwestern tip of Turtle Island have been declared disaster areas from damage wrought by severe storms and flooding in mid-November."
"The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion in federal court Wednesday asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to follow through on upholding an environmental justice pledge."
"FREDERICTON, Canada -- A judge ruled here Monday against an injunction to suspend controversial shale gas exploration activities in Kent County, New Brunswick, which last month created headlines across North America when protests in the area turned violent as activists burned police cars amid dozens of arrests."
"Wastepickers who sort New Delhi garbage in search of recyclables are gaining new opportunities – and recognition – for their environment-benefiting work."
"The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on Thursday announced president Frances Beinecke will retire at the end of 2014.
"The new Interior Secretary has an impressive résumé. Oil geologist, banker, president of REI. But today's Washington is a landscape without maps, and in this age of climate change and keystone, the major battles are taking place over at the EPA and State. Is greatness still possible at Interior?"
Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are at risk from potential dam disasters, yet state and federal agencies hold to a policy that amounts to "out of sight, out of mind." The biggest danger, apparently, is that the public might find out about the dangers, and criticize insufficient dam safety measures, inconvenience private dam owners, depress real estate values, or demand public spending that is politically painful for those in office.
This special issue of the WatchDog focuses on the transparency of safety information related to dams, levees, impoundments, and related water-control structures. For environmental journalists, these subjects offer a goldmine of great story possibilities. These are stories that have not been covered much in the past decade, and stories that fit well at the local, state, or regional level.
Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are at risk from potential dam disasters, yet state and federal agencies hold to a policy that amounts to "out of sight, out of mind."
By KATE SHEPPARD
Americans — and humans in general — have long flocked to the coasts. Thirty-nine percent of the U.S. population, or about 123 million of us, live in coastal counties. But many in coastal areas are finding it increasingly less hospitable due to sea-level rise and extreme weather events linked to climate change. As communities figure out how to adapt to these changes, it is often environmental journalists who are being asked to cover these complex stories.
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